Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Hellenic Telecom Returns to Euro Bond Market in First Issue in Three Years

Bloomberg
April 4, 2011

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (HTO) is selling 500 million euros ($712 million) of bonds in its first offering since 2008 and the second by a Greek non-financial company in more than a year.

Greece’s largest phone company is issuing the notes through its special purpose company OTE Plc, according to Dimitris Tzelepis, head of investor relations. Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. is the only other Greece-based non-financial company to sell debt this year.

Sales of Greek corporate securities stalled and borrowing costs rose after the country was forced to accept a bailout last year to cover the European Union’s biggest budget deficit. Greece’s economy probably will shrink for a third year in 2011 amid cost-cutting measures that followed its rescue, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

“Hellenic Telecom will be viewed as the first real non- financial Greek issuer this year,” said Suki Mann, senior credit strategist at Societe Generale SA in London. “The Coca- Cola Hellenic Bottling tap wasn’t viewed by the market as being exposed to Greece risk and the notes weren’t priced that way.”

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